Human Maple is a circular economy project which consists in collecting and recycling cigarette butts, (one of the main sources of pollution of the seas 40%), enhancing it in thermal insulating padding or textile yarn for sustainable fashion.
Cigarette butts contain more than 40 toxic-polluting substances and every year more than 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are dispersed throughout the world (72 billion in Italy, equivalent to 5180t), causing a cost of 180 million for marine pollution and 10 million for the management of this waste. (https://tobaccoplastics.ggtc.world/) This waste falls under the new single-use plastic legislation, which obliges tobacco producers to assume the cost of raising awareness, infrastructure for collection and correct disposal. Through the innovative process of Human Maple, for every 1 kg of filters it is possible to obtain 330 g of secondary raw material to be included in the textile supply chain with the partner New Mill in Tuscany.
The collection and recycling service with cigarette-shaped survey ashtray includes offline and online communication to raise awareness among stakeholders (or citizens in the case of a Municipality). Through a certificate, the quantity of pollutants that have not been released into the environment will be highlighted, demonstrating the real commitment to the corporate ESG policies for the achievement of various goals of the 2030 agenda.
WEBSITE: http://store.humanmaple.com/
PROJECT LEADER: Ali Benkouhail, Marco Boccia, Simone Vivacqua
MAIN BENEFICIARIES: Biodiversity, Municipalities, large companies required to report a sustainability report (from 2026 the obligation also extends to SMEs), textile producers.
AREAS: Environment, Circular Economy, PeopleChangeBehaviour
COUNTRY: Italy
STATUS: Active
